Examples of prior connectors of this type are those disclosed in JP-4-33671 and JP-6-77186, which are used for ribbon cables, an example of a flat electrical conductors, comprising a flexible printed circuit board (FPC); such FPC conductors consist of thin flat conductors which lie between flexible insulating films. The disclosure of JP-4-33671 is illustrated in FIG. 19 thereof and comprises a connector housing a, one face of which is open forming an insertion hole b, a plurality of terminals c being arranged towards the lower face of the insertion hole b. The upper face of the insertion hole b has a rotatable cover d which serves as a supporting member. When a ribbon cable e is to be attached, as shown in FIG. 19A, the cover d is opened upwards and the ribbon cable e is inserted between the cover d and the terminal c. After that, as shown in FIG. 19(B), by closing the cover d the ribbon cable e is clamped between the cover d and the terminal c. In this manner, the ribbon cable e is maintained in contact with the terminal c.
The invention of JP-6-77186 has the same configuration.
In other words, in the conventional case, before the ribbon cable e is inserted, it is necessary to perform the operation of opening the cover d upwards using a finger. In recent years, due to a trend towards lowering of the rear of the connector housing a, the space for placing a finger on the cover d has become insufficient. In addition, since operators often work using gloves, the operation of opening the cover d is difficult, and the operation takes time.
In the conventional example, when the ribbon cable e is in a clamped state, if the cover d is inclined towards the direction of opening beyond a certain rotative angle, a force applies on the cover d in the direction of opening due to the recovery force exerted as a result of the resilience of the terminal c. On the other hand, if the cover d is inclined towards the closing direction, the force applies in the closing direction. As a result, the cover d can be maintained in an open state or in the closed state without having to provide a separate locking means.
However, the force applying on this cover d uses the force exerted due to the resilience of the terminal c. Accordingly, when the terminal c is bent, there is a possibility of an excessive force applying on the ribbon cable e, this force exceeding the normal contact pressure.
Furthermore the biasing force of the terminal on the cover d may be insufficient; a stronger force from the terminal is possible, but this may increase the electrical contact force to an undesirable level.
From the supported position shown in FIG. 19B, if a pulling force is exerted at the location of the insertion hole on the ribbon cable e in a direction (shown by the arrow f), the ribbon cable e tends to raise the operating end of the cover d, resulting in a possible deterioration of reliability of contact.
The present invention is based on the above circumstances and aims to make the attachment operation of a flat electrical conductor simpler and more efficient, and has a further aim of increasing the reliability of the connection.